Mount Nittany EarthCache
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This Earthcache will take you on a hike up on Mt. Nittany it will take you to a vista. Enjoy your visit to Mt. Nittany. We have received permission from Mt Nittany Conservancy they have rules and regulations regarding geocaching please view them here: http://www.mtnittany.org/Geocache.htm
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The posted coordinates will take you to the vista you need to visit to get credit for this Earthcache. "Mount Nittany is part of the Ridge and Valley province of the Appalachian Mountains."[2] The neighboring Bald Eagle, Tussey and Shriner Mountains are part of the same sedimentary formation consisting of, from youngest to oldest, Tuscarora Formation Quartzite, Juniata Formation Shale, and Bald Eagle Formation Sandstone. These layers were folded during the Appalachian orogeny-(refers to forces and events leading to a severe structural deformation of the Earth's crust due to the engagement of (tectonic plates-is a massive, irregularly shaped slab of solid rock). Nittany Mountain is part of a synclinal-(is a fold, with younger layers closer to the center of the structure) depression of the anticlinal-(is a fold that is convex up and has its oldest beds at its core) Nittany Arch, which originally formed a huge mountain, since eroded, that towered over what is now Nittany Valley. The present Nittany and Big Mountain ridges were originally a valley in this ancient mountain. The Nittany ridge line is topped by the erosion resistant Bald Eagle Sandstone. The more durable Tuscasora Quartzite formations are found exposed on the higher ridges of the northern end of the same syncline: Big Mountain to "Riansares Mountain" and Big Kettle Mountain to "The Winehead". The more easily eroded Juniata Shale forms the depression between the lower and higher ridges, and the drainage from this area cut small ravines in the Nittany ridge line. The same three rock layers are exposed in the neighboring ridges. Beneath the sedimentary layers is a formation of Dolomite-(is a carbonate mineral composed of calcium magnesium carbonate CaMg(CO3)2. The term is also used to describe the sedimentary carbonate rock dolostone). and Limestone-(is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate (CaCO3). Many limestones are composed from skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral). The Bald Eagle Sandstone topping Mt. Nittany prevents the erosion of the underlying limestone to the same level as the surrounding limestone valleys. The Ridge-and-Valley Appalachians, also called the Ridge and Valley Province or the Valley and Ridge Appalachians, are a physiographic province of the larger Appalachian division and are also a belt within the Appalachian Mountains extending from southeastern New York through northwestern New Jersey, westward into Pennsylvania and southward into Maryland, West Virginia, Virginia, Tennessee, Georgia and Alabama. They form a broad arc between the Blue Ridge Mountains and the Appalachian Plateau physiographic province (the Allegheny and Cumberland Plateaus). These mountains are characterized by long, even ridges, with long, continuous valleys in between. From a great enough altitude, they almost look like corduroy, except that the widths of the valleys are somewhat variable and ridges sometimes meet in a V.
ALL required tasks MUST be completed in order to earn this Earthcache. If you submit a log without meeting the requirements, your log will be DELETED without notification within 48 hours. To get credit for this Earthcache, please complete the following tasks:
1. Send us 3 specific things you notice about the rocks at the vista This could be examples: How the rocks feel to the touch, different color or colors of rocks,average size of the rocks etc, or whatever you notice.
2. Which physiographic province "Section" of the larger Appalachian division are you observing? This can be found online on a map of The Ridge and Valley Provinces.
3. OPTIONAL-post a picture with yourself at the vista
Additional Hints
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